


Apocalypse and Friends( : Part 1 Kids and Monsters)

by Kabaneri



Category: The Last Kids on Earth (Cartoon), The Last Kids on Earth Series - Max Brallier
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Apocalypse, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Monster Apocalypse, Monsters, OCs - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, comedy?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29219355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kabaneri/pseuds/Kabaneri
Summary: An AU of Last kids on Earth. I have re-watched the whole TV series and starter reading the books, so I got inspired. Don't know if I'll turn it into full series, hence why the title is like this. Summary:It was a nice sunny day when a portal opened up in the sky, from it monsters and zombies came and the Monster apocalypse began. Quint was all alone, separated from the other students when a monster decided to eat the bus, then chased by zombies. His parents were away and with phones down, he was completely cut off from anyone, even the babysitter his parents hired got zombiefied, but he wasn't going to give up, he was going to survive and reunite with his family! He was alone for a while, however a strange boy named Jack appeared and saved him, now they survive together and look for other survivors.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify, the Monster apocalypse happened in spring, around the time for exams, hence why Quint stayed in school instead of going with his parents. They have left a few days before the whole apocalypse thing started.

“”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”” – Jack and Quint scream as a Dozer chases them.

“This was a bad idea! THIS WAS A BAD IDEAA!!” – Quint screams as he desperately tries not to drop the bag with car parts.

“No need to repeat this! I know it is bad!!” – Jack screams back and almost trips.

“Can’t you do something? Like- distract it or do your ‘Whispered thing’?!”

“Hey! Rover was unexpected! I don’t even know how he is so friendly!”

“GRAAAAAH!” – the Dozer lifted its giant arm, ready to squash the boys.

“Nuts!” – Jack picked Quint up and as fast as his human legs could carry him, he ran down a narrow alley.

The sound of breaking concrete and monster roars echoed around them. He ran for a while, until he was sure nothing followed them. Jack sighed and relief and just then, he stumbled and both boys fell on the pavement in a heap.

“Ouch!” Quint exclaimed “Metal…painful…”

“Ugh…” Jack bulled himself up partially “Stupid feet.”

“Just for the record, this is your fault.” – Quint rubbed his side, having landed on the bag with parts.

“How was I supposed to know a Dozer was there?!”

“I dunno? Use your senses?!” – Quint lifted his arms.

“No way! What if I was se-“

“WE WERE ALREADY!”

“It’s already over, so there’s no harm.” – Jack tried to redirect the conversation.

“Jack… I understand you are not used to this and don’t feel comfortable…” the boy began in a much calmer voice “but next time if you can do something while a giant monster is chasing us, please, do it.”

Jack looked down at the pavement, rubbing the back of his head, a queasy feeling in his stomach and uneasy look on his face.

“…I’ll try. Can’t promise anything but will try.” – he mumbled.

“Good! Now, let’s go back to the treehouse and fix Big Mama!”

Quint stood up and offered his hand, Jack took it and pulled himself up.

===Around 3 months ago, give or take a few days===

I was sneaking through the thick foliage of the forest with purple trees, my form blending quite well among the shadows cast by the trees’ crowns. A smell wafts through the air as the slight breeze blows by. Sniffing the air, I follow the trail to a mostly-eaten carcass of a Big Hairball – a roundish monster with a lot of fur, big mouth, stubby legs and around 2 and a half times my size. Something had finished its meal not too long ago and thankfully the scent hadn’t attracted other scavengers.

With only my head poking out of the bush, I look around and listen carefully. Seeing no signs of anything coming my way, it is finally time to dig in. I haven’t had a meal in 2 days and fresh meat in more than 2 weeks and there was enough left to fill me up and then some more!

Gathering my courage, I got out of my cover and eagerly approached my meal.

I was eating happily and didn’t notice the shadow swooping down from the sky until-

“SCREEEEE!”

I get startled and almost choke on my current mouthful. Head snapping towards the sound, I notice a giant two-headed bird with six legs and burned-red feathers. As usually, I run away but if follows with a furious screech, not even interested in the meat.

“Why chase me?! Have done nothing!” – I shout as I run but as always, there’s no answer.

It happens every time. Something bigger than me sees me and attacks me for no reason!

The bird is hot on my tracks and I can hear the snapping of branches and flap of wings as it gets closer. I try to duck in the roots of a behemoth of a tree but something snatches me up. Turns out the frontmost pair of legs actually functioned like hands.

“Eeeeeeeeek!” – I squeak as I am lifted up.

The two sharp beaks, with teeth for some reason, descend upon me. In a fit of panic, I squeeze my eyes and focus with all I have on the feeling in my chest, lighting my body on fire. The purple flames burn my attacker, it screeches and drops me, but I also hiss as my skin stings and quickly extinguish the fire.

Air whizzes by my ears as I plummet to the ground, desperately I twist my body in hopes to not splatter on the forest floor underneath. Branches break as they hit and scrape my body but I finally manage to latch on a thick one and hung there, panting in pain and effort to not die.

The bird is angry and is about to swoop down again but-

There’s a thundering crash, the once clear sky is quickly darkening, clouds gathering and flashes, followed by deafening booms dance across the sky. The forest dwellers all start to panic, roar and screech, the wind picks up and the earth shakes. I don’t know what’s happening but I can feel it, the pulsing in my chest… Something scary, something old… With another deafening crash, a hole opens in the sky, the wind picks up and pulls towards the hole. The bird screeches and tries to fly away but the pull is too strong, so it is slowly being pulled towards the swirling hole, the pull is so strong it also lifts me up, I struggle to hold onto the branch but the fall and chase had exhausted me. Soon I was in the air and could see above the tree line. The once giant-looking trees from below became smaller and smaller, other holes had opened in the sky and were doing… whatever this one was doing. I get pulled in, alongside the bird. It screeches and flails as we are spun around, but it is pointless, there’s no escape from this sky hole. It gets closer to me and I try to do something to stay away from the bird but one of its wings slaps me hard and I am sent spinning in the air, I hit something hard and see a rock-like beast with huge horn on its nose and 4 long tails. It grunts, not liking me bumping into it and slaps me away, the tail cracks against my flesh, leaving a bleeding red line on my back. Then, everything blurs and twists. It feels like my whole body is stretched and squashed at the same time, then I am falling and everything returns to normal. I am falling but there’s no forest underneath me but a strange place with giant stone pillars and very little vegetation. I look below me and brace for impact. I hit the top of one of these pillars and pain explodes over my body. I am in the wide open and could be seen easily, so I panic. Despite the pain, I drag my body and find a path hanging down the side of the pillar. It certainly is easier than trying to jump from pillar to pillar or try to climb down the side, so I go down the metal pat.

In the shadows between the pillars, I feel at least a bit safer, there are roars and groans as more creatures come out of the sky hole. My vision is blurring, so despite the unpleasant smell I drag myself into a secluded corner and bury in whatever had been spilled on the ground before giving in to exhaustion.

…………………

The first thing he remembers… the first thing he is aware of… is that he is going to die. It was hot, burning hot, then the heat stopped but was replaced by the feeling of drowning and being cramped. He wiggled around, struggled and clawed at whatever was that it was holding him under. He couldn’t see… he couldn’t hear well but he felt everything, emerging out of the suffocating liquid, clawing and pushing his way out until he took his first gulp of air. He remembers hitting something cold and hard, his skin feeling as if it was set on fire, his chest hurting with every breath he took. He cried… he cried until he had no more strength.

He was always alone. He was able to see and hear much better but still didn’t know what he was. There were no others like him, even the place he woke up in only housed him and whatever remained from what he ate.

He tried to find others like him or at least others to live with, even if they were not like him. He had no luck. No one even looked similar to him and the others either attacked him or ran away.

Dark body, black claws, long gangly limbs, short tail, a bit elongated oval head, two big eyes and floppy ears. His front limbs had five claws and could easily hold things, looking starved with his thin frame and the way his ribs could be seen every time he took a deep breath, his skin was a bit rough but lacked scales or much fur, only an almost inexistent fuzz remained around his heck and spine, not that it survived when he set himself aflame. That was another thing with him. For some reason his body held this strange power in his chest and when he willed it, it surged forth and set him ablaze. He hadn’t done much with it and only used it as a last resort because it hurt him too. His skin began to also sting and the fire would eventually make his skin crack open and hurt, then after he extinguished it, it would bleed for a bit as the wounds closed up very quickly. He could do other things, like crawling on walls, blend in with the surroundings or disguise himself as a branch or a rock, but taking on a disguise took a lot of time and his body had to be contorted and re-shaped to match whatever he was trying to imitate, but the disguise fell not to long after, so he rarely used it, preferring to blend in with the surroundings, but it was a useful skill. He once even fooled a pack of giant wolves that he had disappeared by turning into a rock.

Most of the time he spent looking for food, being an omnivore helped in the hard times but what his body wanted the most was meat. He rarely hunted, being smaller than most creatures in the forest, occasionally going for fish in the river or catching a small rodent, but mostly scavenging the leftovers of bigger predators or dead bodies. It wasn’t much of a life but it was still a life.

He didn’t know why every creature avoided him or tried to kill him. He hadn’t done anything. What was that strange whispering that taught him things? Where did it go? Why was he left? What was he? Why did he have to always be alone?!


	2. Meeting

“ **BAAAAAAAAAAARGGGHHHHHHHH!!!** ” – the beast roared from outside the building.

“Oh, no…” – Jack whispered.

“You brought a GIANT MONSTER to us?!”

“Hey! How was I supposed to know? They usually lose interest after I give them the slip.” – Jack shot back.

“Uh… guys. Shouldn’t we leave the arguing after death isn’t outside the window?”

They looked at each other.

“”Agreed!””

===A bit after Monster Apocalypse began===

I jolted awake and jumped out of the smelly pile I had buried myself in. I hissed in pain as a still painful spot in my leg was strained.

My injuries heal very quickly, but it’s not some miracle. If an injury is serious, it’ll take a few days to heal and in the forest that means higher probability of being eaten.

I limped out of my hiding spot and looked around. The sky was dark and it was nothing like the forest. The moon was wrong, the stars in the sky looked smaller and were scattered differently, the air also tasted different. I had a feeling this place was different, very different than the forest.

Creeping out in the wide gab between the strange stone columns, I approached the strange black thing stretching between them. It was not dirt, it looked more like stone but it was just too smooth and black! Black like the Death lake. If it really was like the black, sticky trap of the lake, I would need to find another way. I approached and carefully stretched my claw, touching the black surface with it, expecting for it to sing into thick, black liquid but instead it touched something hard. This time, with little more confidence, I touched the black river and it was actually as hard as a rock. I sighed in relief and quickly darted across and into the shadows.

This place was so barren, so strange! There were a few good places to hide but not that much. The trees and bushes were too small to provide decent shelter or a hiding place, they were also so far away from one other. If I were to venture out during the day, I’d be dead meat!

I walked and walked around, learning the layout of this new place and looking for a new shelter, maybe somewhere where there was running water nearby. I was NOT spending time in that smelly place again! Soon the stone columns became smaller and smaller. I passed a few patches larger of greenery along the way, entertaining the idea of finding shelter there but quickly moved on. I would still be too exposed when the sun comes. I quenched my thirst in a stone watering hole, grimacing as I tested some strange mineral in the water. Soon the stone columns were gone and before me were lines and lines of small structures on a grassland, each one separated by wooden strips from the others. I peered inside through an unmalting ice wall and saw a room full of plush and a giant nest?

‘Oh! I get it! Those are small caves! Ant these wooden strips mark the owners’ territory!’ – I nodded to myself, proud of figuring it out.

But… it seemed no one was there, despite it being night. Were all the creatures living here nocturnal? Were they out hunting?

“GROAAAAAAAAAAAR!” – something huge roared in the distance, making his ears perk up.

The sun was about to rise in a little while, so I hurried to look for a shelter. I was not entering one of the caves and risking of getting caught when the owners returned.

The situation seemed hopeless but I found a large tree with a rickety wooden structure in its branches. It looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, so seeing as I had no other choice, I climbed up the trunk and peered inside. It was spacious and had items scattered around, but they were covered in dust and dirt, so I was right after all! This place was not used! I crawled inside and took a look around.

The place was nice and had a few escape routes, there were too many open holes in the walls but I could always patch some up. The previous inhabitants also seemed to have had a strange taste, collecting all sorts of weir trinkets.

“What this strange and gangly thing?” – I muttered as I looked at a bunch of leaves stuck together and images drawn on them.

Were these the previous inhabitants?

The sun rose slowly and I felt my belly rumble. I had barely eaten any of that meat before I was attacked, not to mention all that running and getting injured… I would probably have to wait until dusk before being able to venture out.

‘Guess I will have to wait it out-‘

Just then some strange scent caught my attention. I sniffed and followed it to the source- a leathery…nut? No… it seems to be something made? I have seen travelers use similar things to carry things… I think? The unfamiliar scent was coming from inside, so without much thought, I ripped it open, tearing one side a bit.

“What??”

I had absolutely no idea what the items inside were, but after a bit of investigation… They were very tasty! Without realizing it, I had gorged myself and fell asleep on top of a soft pile. I didn’t wake up for a while.

The foods left over from the previous owners lasted me a few days as I decided to stay near while my injuries healed. I also discovered something else- this place was abandoned. I observed the area nearby for signs of the beings that lived in the small caves but none came. One day, after gathering a lot of courage, I dared to venture inside the cave next to my new home. The inside was even bigger and had more hiding places but it being on the ground made me nervous. Even back in the forest, I lived in a small cave high on the side of a cliff. What I noticed was that the place was in a disarray – things were left scattered, half-eaten food was spilled on the stone floor, obvious signs they had ran off somewhere. I visited a few more of these caves and they were the same. What could have scared them to do so?

I had no answer for any of that, but there was one thing I knew for sure – I was getting hungry and needed to find something to eat!

===Meanwhile…===

It was night and Quint was huddled in the bathroom, unable to fall asleep. He had put a few blankets in the bathtub and cocooned himself for the night, shaking slightly despite it being very warm outside and jumping at every loud noise- a broom clutched in his hands.

…………………

It had all started like a completely normal day. He had gotten up, eaten breakfast while video-calling his parents on their cruise and then saying goodbye to go to school and prepare for the upcoming exams. Yes, he was a little sour that the cruise lasted all the way through the end-of-the-year exams, but it couldn’t be helped. He had been on the bus, trying to avoid the attention of Dirk, the bully, when there was a loud BOOM and monsters started pouring out of a huge portal in the sky, not to mention the zombies…

He was almost squashed by the giant beast that had decided their bus was a good snack. He was alone and scared. The other students scattering, no one waiting for him, the teachers were trying to fend off some zombies all the while doom rained from above. Just as quickly as it had begun, the portal closed with a snap, leaving all the monsters.

Quint ran away and towards his home, not knowing where else he could go. A zombie had almost caught him while he was running through the school’s parking lot but he gave it a whack with his backpack and managed to get away.

After that followed sneaking around monsters and avoid the numerous zombies for a few blocks until he reached his house. Safety at last! …Only for his zombified babysitter to attack him.

“AAAAAAH!” – Quint screamed as he ducked and dodged the undead’s lunge.

He quickly looked for a weapon and grabbed the nearest thing- a broom. Brandishing it like a pathetic version of a spear, he somehow managed to stuff the zombie inside the first floor closed and barricade it inside.

……………………..

Quint was scared out of his mind. He tried to call his parents, to see if they were alright or if the whole “Portal in the sky” thing only happened here, only to find that there was no internet, no signal, no electricity… He was completely cut off from others, all alone.

He had screamed, he tried to deny it, he even tried to think this was all a dream… Now, only the cold acceptance and fear remained. Monsters roared in the distance, making him huddle closer to the cold porcelain, the groans of the undead made his skin crawl. He could even swear he could hear the groans of his now ex-babysitter and the scraping of her nails on the closet door, despite it not being physically possible. Quint quietly stood up, his legs trembling and feeling like jelly, he locked the bathroom door- just in case and returned to being a trembling ball of nerves in the bathtub. The boy stood there, wide awake until early morning, the adrenaline wore off and Quint found himself passed out and his body stiff from the uncomfortable position.

He unlocked the door and peered around the hall – it seemed safe, so he exited the bathroom, broom still tightly in his grip. There were zombies in his front yard, it was making him uncomfortable, so he quickly grabbed some food and went into his room. Quint tried to call his parents again, but again, no signal.

“Get a hold of yourself Quint!” he slapped his cheeks “Your parents are alright! They must be! You can do this! You will survive this Monster apocalypse and meet them again!” – he repeated that to hype himself up but even after a few times, he still felt quite uneasy.

Quint knew it wasn’t healthy coping mechanism, but he threw himself in the only thing he could do best- research. He took notes on the undead and the monsters he could observe near his house, he gathered quite a lot of information, yet there was still no sign of other survivors or rescue teams and he didn’t dare and try to set off flares, the chance of calling monsters for dinner was too high.

With no electricity came a lot of trouble- none of the appliances worked, so the fridge was also not working. Quint tried to keep the food in a cool place and ration it so it would last as long as it could, but after two weeks, even the pantries were empty of anything he could eat. He had to go out and get more, as much as he didn’t like the idea of leaving the safety of his home, he was NOT going to starve!

Quint prepared himself the best he could- extra layers, gloves and helmet, so the zombies won’t be able to surprise-bite him, a few firecrackers and other fireworks left from last year and his dad’s lacrosse stick. He entered the garage, loaded some of his supplies and a few bags int the newly-named and modified for the apocalypse Big Mama.

“OK. Everything is here, the door’s locked, tank is full. The time is now, Quint!” he pressed the open button on the garage’s remote “Oh, yeah. No electricity.” – he groaned when it did nothing.

===The same day===

Finding food nearby was very hard. He had survived for a while by raiding all the nearby caves and even uprooting and eating some of the nasty-tasting roots that grew around them but his food was running low and whatever prey was around was either too small to be worth the effort of chasing it or too big and dangerous for him, so he decided it was time to venture farther into this strange new place, maybe even find a good hunting spot. He had more than enough water, so there was no need to look for a watering hole or river.

He had scared himself half to death after puling a shiny oval thing in the small cave and was then sprayed by a LOT of water. He figured how to work the strange contraption and could now drink water whenever he wanted, he even took a bath to wash off the nasty stink that had clung to him ever since his first day coming here.

In the early morning, before the sun had properly risen up, he climbed down the tree trunk and walked towards the forest of stone pillars. It was still a bit too risky venturing into the woods of this new place. Who knew what kind of dangerous local creatures he might encounter?

……………………….

He found this place- it was like a giant cave full of many smaller abodes inside and he started to think.

‘Maybe those stone pillars are the same? Carved out homes of this place’s inhabitants.’

The cave had a large number of the groaning beasts. He hadn’t seen anything similar in the forest and they looked quite similar to the drawings on those leaves. Maybe those were the locals? But he gave the idea up. The ones in the pictures didn’t have greenish skin, nor were they falling apart, plus, he doubted anything living should smell of decomposition.

He jumped up on a few hanging platforms and walked above the mob of Groaners. Hey, that was a good name for these creatures! Maybe he’d start calling them that? Sniffing the air, he caught a familiar scent and followed it towards the strange but tasty food.

===

Quint parked Big Mama in front of the abandoned mall, making sure he had not been spotted by a monster or the zombies. The boy took a calming breath, took the bags and a few firecrackers along with the lacrosse stick before getting off and locking the car. If someone stole it, he’d be stranded and he didn’t want that.

…………………..

The mall was empty and the purple vines coupled with the groans of zombies made the whole place feel creepy.

His path towards the supermarket was blocked by quite a lot of zombies, so Quint decided to redirect them.

‘Observation shows zombies are attracted by sudden movement and loud noises. So, a loud enough series of noise should be able to distract them enough for me to slip by without a problem!’

Quint hid behind some boxes, lit a firecracker and threw it down an empty hall. The pops echoed loudly and the zombies all headed towards the noise. He quickly ran past and down the hall, towards the supermarket.

He thinks how he is about to enter now that the automatic doors don’t work but someone, or _something_ , had solved the problem by smashing the glass. Carefully Quint stepped over the broken glass shards and enters the supermarket. Looking around, it was even more obvious some of the shelves have been rummaged through. He quickly started filling up the bags with all the essentials and food he could find.

‘Oh, a XL can of salmon! Lucky!’ – he thinks but said can falls off the shelf and rolls away, until it hits someone’s shoe.

“Guuuuuh!” – the zombie turns towards him.

“Oh, nuts!” – he swears as more zombie pop out from between the shelves.

Without hesitating, Quint swings one of the bags at the approaching undead, letting it hit and topple them down. The noise attracts more zombies but he doesn’t care about that. He looks around for a way out and sees the closed door that leads to the storage room. He definitely had better chances hiding there than trying to make his way through the horde, not to mention it being closed meant that it was unlikely there would be more zombies waiting there. Quint ran with all his might, opened the door and closed it with a bang before locking it and pushing several crates and boxes to block it. The room was not too big and it was dimly-lit, full of shelves, boxes and crates.

“Phew! That was close!” something rustled and shifted in the darkness “Who’s there?!” – he brandished the stick and carefully approached the place.

===

The familiar smell of tasty crunchies led me through the spacious caverns. The beings living here were really strange, decorating their living space with odd things why would one want to hang giant hollow balls? I understand the long strips and platforms- they were an easier way to move around but the rest? You could have made more hanging pathways!

I finally jumped down as I reached my destination. It was a colorful abode with walls made from that strange unmelting ice and by the looks of it no way in, so I smashed one of the walls. I found out they were very easy to break. I looked around and noticed other food things around, it was full of them and I growled a bit- hoarders, I hate hoarders. They take all the good food and then more, in the end they can’t eat it, it spoils and they throw it away, waste of good food that is!

I took one of the small food-filled sacks and tore it open, quickly devouring the contents and throwing it away. I looked around some more and was very delighted to see meat- lots and LOTS of different meat! Without thinking much, I tore into it. It was cold and not recently killed but at least it hadn’t started rotting.

‘Huh? What is that?’ – a noise caught my attention.

I dropped the half-eaten bone on the ground and approached a greenish part of the wall. I looked over it and saw a somewhat familiar shiny thing, bit it looked more like a stick instead of an oval. Last time I moved one of these, something good happened, so I tried to pull – nothing happened, then I tried pressing on it ad it started to tilt down before the wall clicked and moved, revealing a secret passage.

“Uuugh!” – and two Groaners stumbled out and towards me.

I jumped out of the way and swiped their feet. They easily fell and I walked into the new section I found, pushing the green part back into place before it clicked and hid the place yet again.

‘Maybe I should put something like that in home?’

Turns out the place was full of even more food. Damn hoarders!

I was looking through the piles and piles of tasty crunchies and other foods when I heard a noise from the outside I curled, blending into the shadows and hoping my place would not be discovered. Of course, my luck was not good and the wall opens, in comes one of the inhabitants, closing the hole and pushing some of the items in front of the closed hole, Groaners scratching on the outside.

I panicked. Who knew what these creatures were capable of?! I had never seen a living one before and now I was trapped inside with one! Oh, no, no, NO! I was going to be discovered! My mind ran at maximum speed when an image popped up. I gurled even more and started to put on my disguise, hoping for it to be done quickly.

“Who’s there?!” – the being spoke, it spoke and it was walking towards him.

Finally, he felt his disguise take full hold and just in time because the being pointed a beam of light at him. He covered his eyes and held back a threatening hiss back as his eyes adjusted.

===

“Huh?” Quint was a bit surprised “Oh, I… sorry!” – he quickly lowered the flashlight and watched the other boy rub his eyes with a bit of a pained expression.

He couldn’t believe it- there was ANOTHER human! After two weeks of being alone, there was another survivor and he found him in the storage of an abandoned supermarket.

The other boy looked to be around his age, pale skin, a bit messy hair, wore a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

“Are you OK?” – Quint stretched his hand to help the other boy up but he just jumped up and a bit away from him.

“Uh…” he looked at the floor and seemed uncomfortable “Ye-Yes, OK?” – he seemed a bit unsure and kind of familiar to Quint but he couldn’t remember from where…

“So…” Quint didn’t know how to start, he hadn’t talked to anyone else for 2 weeks and he wasn’t a very social person to begin with “We are stuck, huh?” – he tried to not panic and pass off the predicament as something not so serious.

“Stuck? You mean like trapped? You pushed things in front the entrance.”

‘Oh, god! This guy sounds even more awkward than me.’ – Quint thinks.

“So…My name is Quint. Nice to meet you.”- he stretched his hand for a handshake.

“Um, nice meet you?”- the other boy just stared at the outstretched limb.

Quint waited but the other boy continued to avoid eye contact and stay silent.

“Um…What’s your name, if I may ask?”

The boy almost jumps and starts to nervously rub his neck.

“Um, I am…. J…Ja….aa…ah?”-he sounded unsure.

“Jack?”

“Yes, yes, Jack! That’s name- Jack.”

“Uhuh.” Quint stares, that boy was strange “So, you are also here huh?”

“Ah, yes, came to search for more tasty crunchies.”

“You mean snacks?”

“Y-Yea, tasty crunchy snacks!”

“Dude, no one talks like that.”- Quint deadpans.

“R-really?” – he looks really confused.

Quint nodded and the silence stretched.

………………………

Quint had no watch with him but he knew a lot of time had passed.

“…And then he slammed on the brakes and the car screeched and spun, them stopped perfectly in the spot! It saw so cool!” – Quint finished with his story.

“Wow! Sounds really interesting! Want to see it.” – Jack sat on a crate and looked at him with awe.

“Yeah, too bad the DVD doesn’t work, or the internet, or the electricity…” – Jack gave him a bit of a strange look but Quint dismissed it.

Jack opened another pack of chips, Quint on the other hand opened a few different cans of juice and mixed them together.

“And this mix, I call the Pineapple Pop.” – he said as he handed Jack a cup.

As he did with the past drinks, Jack sniffed it first and took a sip, his eyes widening and smacking his lips. The fizzy drink leaving a strange feeling in his mouth but he was getting used to it.

“What about you? I have been talking almost the whole time, so now it is your turn.” – Quint also sits down and takes a sip.

“Oh, uh… I came here to take some food back to the tree, there was not any left around and there was nothing to hunt so-“

“Wait! Hunt? As in you can hunt?”

“Yes, but only smaller things.”

“That’s really cool. Who taught you to?”

“Um, me? No one wanted to be with me, so I taught myself?”

“That’s pretty amazing, dude. And it must really have sucked, being without a family and all.”

“No, no, I’m good right now, better than ever before!”

What Jack said made Quint cringe a bit. It made sense why the other boy was so shy and awkward, he was an orphan and actually thought the apocalypse was nice. That or he was an alien that got caught up in this mess and is lying to him but Quint had a feeling he was telling the truth. In the few hours?, maybe, he noticed that Jack was not a very good liar and would stumble over things quite obviously, but he didn’t mention it to the other boy. He also noticed Jack was getting antsy, fidgeting, clanking left and right and tapping one foot from time to time.

“Wait- Listen!” – Quint says.

They both listen and it is quiet. Quint finishes his cup and approaches the blocked door, carefully moving a few boxes and pressing his ear to it. It is quiet outside.

“I think the zombies are gone. We may be able to leave now. Let me check.”

Jack sighed in relief and went to help Quint move a few of the crates. As quietly as he could, Quint cracked the door just a tiny bit open, after not seeing any zombies, he opened it a bit more and looked around again. The zombies were gone! He took his bag and was about to run out when he remembered about Jack.

“Grab whatever you can and let’s get out of here!” – Quint whispered and handed Jack a plastic bag.

Jack just quickly stuffed a few random bags of snacks in and hurried out. Quint followed him, not bothering to look for the other bag at the moment. Unfortunately for them, the zombies had converged in the hall that led to the nearest exit. Jack almost looked sick at that point.

“Follow me. I know another way out.” – Quint pulled him by the hand and led him down another hall.

They carefully snuck through the halls, not wanting a zombie wave to come their way. Just as Quint passed by a shoe shop, a pinkish blur jumped out of there and screeched at them – in was a pinkish turkey-like monster with bat wings and no feathers.

“AAAAAAAH!” – without thinking, Quint screamed and attracted the attention of the zombies.

“Raagh!” – it seemed like all the zombies in the mall had heard the scream and a zombie wave headed their way.

“Oh, no! We need to get out of here, fast!” – Quint led Jack towards another hall but zombies also came from there.

They were trapped!

“Up!” – Jack pointed at a few hanging illumination bodies and decorations.

Quint headed for the nearest one but it was too high.

“I-I can’t reach it! Woah!” – he was startled when Jack suddenly boosted him up with a surprising amount of strength.

Quint quickly grabbed on and pulled himself up, the steel structure swaying from all the movement. He turns around to help Jack get up but the other boy is gone and already pulling himself up on another of the hanging structures. The zombies had almost reached them, so they had to move. On shaky legs, Quint carefully made his way forward, the swaying of the light fixture didn’t help with his fear of falling in a literal sea of undead. Jack was doing much better already moving in front of him, hurrying forward. Quint hurried after him but as he jumped to the next platform, he slipped. He swung his arms around and managed to latch on one of the chains holding the light up.

“Raagh…” – zombies groaned and stretched their hands as they tried to reach the boy, their fingers missing him for a little bit.

“Ah! Jack! Help!” – Quint desperately screamed as he felt his grip weaken.

===

He had to get away. He had stayed for a long time in this disguise and he could feel if about to fall apart. Walking with these new legs was a bit awkward but he could get out and hide before his disguise fell. He really liked the small creature; Quint was his name. He didn’t know what that quite was yet but he was going to figure it out soon. He liked Quint, he was amusing, made tasty things to drink and told stories. He learned a lot of new words, like car and jeez and dude, he almost felt like he had been part of one of the traveling groups that occasionally passed through the forest, sat around fire and talked!

That’s why when Quint called out in panic, he froze and turned around. He was about to fall and by his panicked expression, this was not good, the Groaners truly were scary! He had to help him! But his disguise was going to fall any moment now! But he didn’t want to lose Quint! But if Quint saw him, he was going to scream and run and try to hurt him and not want to be with him!

Quint was slipping, so Jack made the decision, he let go of the food and ran back to save him.

===

Quint watched as Jack stopped and hesitated. The other boy had almost reached the railing of the second floor by the time Quint had called out. Jack looked at him and looked conflicted. Quint’s heart almost fell –they had met less than a day ago, so he could easily abandon him like that. Just then Jack let go of his bag of food and ran towards him. What Quint didn’t expect though was that during the last jump towards him, Jack seemed to break apart and a dark monster replaced him.

“Eep!” – he flinched and closed his eyes, expecting the monster to eat him now that it revealed itself.

A rough arm with sharp claws grabbed his forearm and pulled him up.

“You OK?” – Jack’s voice asked.

He dared to peek with one eye only to almost scream when he was met with a big blue eye and a slightly open maw of sharp teeth.

“Uh,y-yeah…” – he stuttered out.

Creaaak~! -seems like the weight of them both turned out to be too much for the thin chain holding the light up.

“Hold on!” – the monster, Jack, put Quint on its bony back and jumped as the light fell with a clatter.

They made a few more jumps before landing on all four on the second floor. Groans followed as the zombie tsunami got up after them. Jack hissed, the sound traveled through his throat and then Quint’s arms, making the boy flinch.

“Where now?” – Jack asks him.

“G-go down that hall then left- WAH!“ -Quint points when Jack suddenly takes off in a run.

He took the sharp left turn, claws scraping the floor and leaving gouges on it. Jack then headed for the nearest window and smashed it open, jumping out and wrapping his arms around Quint as much as he could. The landing was rough but they managed it.

“Oh my GOD! What the hell was that?!” – Quint screamed.

“Ugh…” – Jack groaned.

“Oh, no. You are hurt!” – Quint saw there were a few sharp pieces of glass piercing Jack’s side and back.

“Gaaah!” – The zombie wave came and some began to even fall out of windows and break the mall’s front door.

“Come on, this way.” – Quint pulled Jack and he limped towards Big Mama.

Quint managed to coax him into the back of the truck and quickly climbed in, starting the engine.

“Hold on tight and please don’t try to jump!” – Quint shouted as he but the car into gear and drove off.

“SCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!” – Jack screeched in panic from the back but didn’t let go, even after the sudden loud noise almost made Quint crash in a fire hydrant.

…………………………

Big Mama soon stopped in front of Quint’s home. Quint’s arms were trembling by now but he took a calming breath and got off.

In the back, Jack was frozen in place, claws partially embedded in the car’s roof, taking uneven breaths.

“Hey… You OK up there?” – Quint meekly asked.

The way the monster’s head snapped towards him, literally with a small snap, almost made the boy jump. A few moments of silence and staring followed before Jack moved, slowly dislodging his claws from the car and getting off. He stumbled a bit and hissed in pain as his injuries were disturbed by the movement. He slowly started to limp away from there.

Quint hesitated a bit. He knew it probably wasn’t safe to approach an unknown creature, a monster that had arrived from the same portal that brought the apocalypse, but he just couldn’t leave his new friend leave. Yes, friend. Jack could have eaten him several times over if he really wanted to while they were in that storage room, not to mention they had a pretty good conversation, meaning that he was very intelligent, Jack being the first talking monster Quint had seen and most importantly of all- he had saved Quint’s life, risking his own in the process.

“Wait!” Quint ran and blocked Jack’s path “You are injured and can’t just leave like that! At the very least, let me help you!”

“You… not afraid?” – Jack seemed startled.

Now that he could see better, Quint noted that unlike in his human form, Jack seemed to talk in a different way, the mouth wasn’t forming the words, only opening and closing occasionally, they seemed to come from deep in his throat and… He was getting distracted again.

“No, I am not afraid, well… maybe a little but freaked out but that’s not important right now. You saved my life and got hurt, so I am not letting you go off. I can help you and treat your injuries and pull the glass out from where you can’t reach.”

“Glass?”

“Uh, yes, you know, the things piercing you right now.” – Quint pointed.

“Oh, so unmelting ice is called glass…” – he mused, seeming not bothered by the fact that he was bleeding, another strange thing was that his blood wasn’t red.

“Anyway! Come inside and let’s treat you.” – Quint opened the garage and invited him in.

“Gratitude.”

“You mean -thanks?” Jack nods “You have to tell me how you know so many complex words but don’t know simple things some day in the future.”

==A few days later…===

It was early evening and Big Mama stopped in front of a yard with a big treehouse.

“So, this is your home, huh?” – Quint steeps out of the vehicle.

“Yes. Found it after I fell here.” – Jack jumped from the back of the car, now in full health.

“It looks a bit old but nothing a bit of work can’t fix.”

“And it is safer than your house! It’s high!” – Jack exclaimed cheerily.

“Yeah, yeah. Now help me get some of this stuff up.” – Quint said as he pulled a few cardboard boxes full of his stuff.


End file.
